The Least Disliked Episode 2023: TNG Season 7

[BlueStuff]

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - now with more shows than ever. It's generally a lot of fun, providing a chance to mentally revisit those episodes you may not have thought about in a while. With that in mind, why not play again?

So, here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your least favourite or the one you deem the 'worst.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode just because you feel it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Hall of Champions
2011 - The Best of Both Worlds (I)
2013 - The Measure of a Man
2015 - All Good Things…
2017 - The Best of Both Worlds (I)
2019 - Yesterday’s Enterprise
2021 - Q Who
2023 -

Season 7

Descent (II)
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Force of Nature
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Homeward
Sub Rosa
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Masks
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Firstborn
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Seven of Five]

First blood goes to the confusingly boring Masks! It sends me to sleep on every rewatch.

Descent (II)
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Force of Nature
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Homeward
Sub Rosa
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Firstborn
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Takeru]

Firstborn is out next, so dull and unnecessary. I couldn't care less about future Alexander's sob story because as usual the future is not written in stone so nothing he said affected me in any way.


Descent (II)
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Force of Nature
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Homeward
Sub Rosa
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Qonundrum]

"55MPH, but in space" was never as exciting as this:

Force of Nature​

Especially as any episode left in the season is quick to say "Authorization to exceed warp 5 limitation is granted".

At least they openly recognized before spreading the word how Romulans and Klingons wouldn't be bothered by engaging in this standard... um, that opens up yet another can of ga'gh...



What's left:
Descent (II)
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Homeward
Sub Rosa
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Seven of Five]

Sub Rosa is a pretty terrible episode. There are elements there that make it B-movie bad like Spock's Brain, but it is so silly.

Descent (II)
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Homeward
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Takeru]

Homeward! Another example of "The prime directive sucks and is a callous and cruel policy". How Picard acted was disgusting and when he blamed Nikolai for the one guy's suicide I wanted to slap him silly. That guy would have died days earlier had it not been for Nikolai, he gave him a chance, it didn't work out, that's tragic but not Nikolai's fault and considering the fact that Picard thought everyone on the holodeck should have died on their planet he has no leg to stand on in that discussion.



Descent (II)
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Qonundrum]

Sub Rosa is a pretty terrible episode. There are elements there that make it B-movie bad like Spock's Brain, but it is so silly.

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Those say it all, hehe.

 

[Qonundrum]

If you thought the previous episode was great, then sit on down, strap in, and listen to 40 minutes of badly-acted treknobabble!

Descent (II)

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Sheesh, even the incidental music needed acting lessons; for wallpaper muzak that's a new low.

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Dang, a scene that's actually good with its use of horror. And Data. I find that hard to believe as well, but there it is.


What's left:
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Journey's End
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Sakonna]

Sub Rosa is a pretty terrible episode. There are elements there that make it B-movie bad like Spock's Brain, but it is so silly.

Now who's killing the universally beloved timeless classics???

"Journey's End", for being a bizarre and unsatisfying wrap to Wesley's story.

Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Lower Decks
Thine Own Self
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Farscape One]

I am very sad to see "Masks" get taken out so quickly, especially since there are FAR worse episodes this season. (Sorry, Seven of Five... I simply cannot like that post because I love that episode so much.)

Taking out "Thine Own Self" because Data has saved the crew multiple times, exposed the Romulans' connection to the Klingon civil war, saved Earth from assimilation, AND performed the role of XO perfectly each time he did so... but never got to be a full commander. Plus, he was already Second Officer of the Federation flagship.

Troi becomes a commander because she ordered a hologram to a suicide mission. I ask you... who did more to earn that rank?

While I'm glad it gave Troi more to do, it didn't need to come at the cost of Data for the joke at the end of him having to call her 'sir'.


Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Lower Decks
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Qonundrum]

Is Picard lying when he's buttering up Sito? There's an undercurrent that's as disturbing as it is unintentional in:

Lower Decks​

In an earlier scene, he tells her icily how he's amazed she managed to get on the Enterprise after she explains how she's grown. He later said he requested her.

PICARD: Well I'm really very sorry you didn't enjoy your time at the Academy, Ensign. As far as I'm concerned, you should have been expelled for what you did. Quite frankly, I don't know how you made it on board this ship. You're dismissed.​

versus around twenty-some minutes later:

PICARD: And, Ensign. I do know why you ended up on the Enterprise. I asked for you. I wanted to make sure that you got a fair chance to redeem yourself.​

Wow. That's one way to look at it. WWWD, since that latter line doesn't sound as honorable given the context of the former?


What's left:
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Farscape One]

Is Picard lying when he's buttering up Sito? There's an undercurrent that's as disturbing as it is unintentional in:

Lower Decks​

In an earlier scene, he tells her icily how he's amazed she managed to get on the Enterprise after she explains how she's grown. He later said he requested her.

PICARD: Well I'm really very sorry you didn't enjoy your time at the Academy, Ensign. As far as I'm concerned, you should have been expelled for what you did. Quite frankly, I don't know how you made it on board this ship. You're dismissed.​

versus around twenty-some minutes later:

PICARD: And, Ensign. I do know why you ended up on the Enterprise. I asked for you. I wanted to make sure that you got a fair chance to redeem yourself.​

Wow. That's one way to look at it. WWWD, since that latter line doesn't sound as honorable given the context of the former?


What's left:
Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Dark Page
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

I think the former line was testing Sito to see if she was fit to be part of that mission.

Worf's martial arts scene with her sort of proves this. It was his way of nudging her. It was one of the very few times on TNG he did something in a leadership role.

 

[Qonundrum]

I think the former line was testing Sito to see if she was fit to be part of that mission.

Worf's martial arts scene with her sort of proves this. It was his way of nudging her. It was one of the very few times on TNG he did something in a leadership role.

Good points!

LD is not the best season 7 story, but it is above-average for sure.

 

[Sakonna]

I see how it's good in a technical sense, but these days I avoid "Dark Page" at all costs. I just hate stories about the deaths of children.

It's funny how as a kid I thought this was THE great Lwaxana episode, now as an adult all I feel is "the children!", and all I want to rewatch of hers is "Haven", "Manhunt", "The Forsaken", "Fascination", "The Muse"...

Liaisons
Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Farscape One]

How "Liaisons" survived past "Masks" and "Lower Decks" is beyond me.

I will rectify that now. This was just terrible, with the only good thing being the humor of Worf trying to be diplomatic with that belligerent ambassador.


Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Attached
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Summer Solstice]

"Attached" - the implants that give telepathy was way too convenient a plot device.


Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Bloodlines
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Seven of Five]

I've been busy this afternoon otherwise I would have nuked Liasons after Sub Rosa.

Bloodlines is a pretty pointless follow-up to The Battle so it's next.

Interface
Gambit (I)
Gambit (II)
Phantasms
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Qonundrum]

TNG doing DS9 again, and with such an ineffectual budget...

Gambit (II)

At least we got a good ending:

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As for the other Starbase 227:

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Honestly, how can anyone not love Pearl?!


What's left:
Interface
Gambit (I)
Phantasms
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Farscape One]

Taking out "Gambit, Part I".

Calling it a two parter off the bat in an episode that has Picard 'die' at the beginning... you know it was not real.


Interface
Phantasms
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Emergence
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...

 

[Seven of Five]

Emergence is a pretty average technobabble episode and is utterly forgettable.

Interface
Phantasms
Inheritance
Parallels
The Pegasus
Eye of the Beholder
Genesis
Preemptive Strike
All Good Things...